


Promises on the Sakura

by baka_tsumibito



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Pining, Post-Canon, Sakurathon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-26 00:19:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3830191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baka_tsumibito/pseuds/baka_tsumibito
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haru, sakura, waiting, and lack of colour. This must be what Rin means to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promises on the Sakura

 

 Haru stared up into the sparse branches of the majestic tree, standing in the yard of his elementary school. Aside from a few errant withered leaves, the tree was bare, which brought him great sadness. 

 

Rin was gone, having already departed for Australia. Haru couldn't imagine it; Rin would be swimming with a club, "taking revenge" as it were, and they _might_ (only _might_ ) meet when Rin came back to swim for Japan.

 

He crouched by the bricks encircling the tree, fingers outstretched, reaching towards a particular design. When would Rin come back? This path of theirs guaranteed encounters at international meets, but truly, how long would it take to get there in the first place?

 

Rin had told him once, at this very tree, that Haru _absolutely_ had to swim for him (with him, no doubt). Another time, he had agreed to watch over Haru in turn, a promise of sorts to race together again.

 

It felt almost unreal, watching his fingers brush against the brick bearing Rin's childhood mantra. _For the team_  stared back up at him, and Haru felt a funny feeling in his gut. Rin was definitely swimming for a team, all right.

 

 

 

(But not the one Haru wanted.)

 

He stood up slowly, dust circling around his feet, not wanting to disturb this place too much. If he pushed himself to remember, closed his eyes and pretended the tree was much taller than it seemed, he could feel the presence of Makoto and Rin at his sides (what would slowly dissipate into annoyance and energy). His vision would tunnel, focus narrowing down to a single, bright individual.

 

Haru could have sworn he saw cherry blossoms that day.

 

Inhaling through his nose, he tried to think, _remember_ , how Rin felt on that day; immersing himself in Rin's presence, enveloping him, cocooning him in light and brightness, a promise to show him the best sight.

 

_Where are you now,_  Haru thought while trudging out of the yard. _Where is that sight you promised me?_

 

 

* * *

 

 

Haru took his sketchbook with him to Tokyo.

 

It wasn't as if he'd ever filled it up too much. Tobimaru-kun had only taken up so much space after all, and aside from a few planned layouts for his Iwatobi-chan carvings, the book was mostly empty.

 

Makoto wasn't in the city yet, dragging out his departure in order to spend as much time as possible with his family before departing. So Haru had left first; if anything, it brought him closer to his _own_  parents (but not quite in the same city, yet).

 

It was strange, staring out his new apartment window. Instead of quiet life and stray cats, he was met with grey, bleak concrete looking up at him from much higher than he'd ever experienced.

 

The emptiness was pleasant, welcoming, and yet Haru still didn't know what to do with himself. He missed Rin too much.

 

So he drew.

 

The charcoal he used could paint a perfect depiction of the tree he had visited a few days prior, but did nothing to remind him of the instance in his childhood where he could've sworn seeing it in full bloom. The stark black lines were a horrible representation of people though, lessening Rin's usual vigour, not enough to depict his energy and vibrancy.

 

Even when he'd come back from Australia, broken, there'd still been more intenseness to his aura than what Haru had created after long periods of time spent hunched over his sketchbook. _Why couldn’t he capture that look on Rin’s face, his precious expressions, any of it? Why was it so dark; where were the pinks and reds?_

 

He didn't throw away his drawings, not one of them, but put the sketchbook aside once sessions began and didn't look back.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It hurt, being in a foreign city without Rin.

 

It didn't matter that Tokyo was still in his homeland; he'd grown accustomed to facing huge cities with his friends by his side -- especially a city as overwhelming as Tokyo, with its large foreign presence.

 

Maybe if Rin was around, post-high school life would be more colourful than the gray it currently represented. Iwatobi was bright, full of colours, even though their contrast had lessened after Rin's departure. Life without Rin, it seemed, was destined to be devoid of colour. 

 

Somehow, in his transition from Iwatobi to Tokyo, he'd nearly completely missed the full bloom of the sakura. Too early for one city, catching the tail end of it at the other, it had stung a little.

 

So Haru tried to drown himself ( _figuratively_ ) in his swimming. The knowledge that it might bring him just the tiniest bit closer to Rin was comforting, somewhat, but the water felt much too quiet without that persistent presence. Slowly, over the course of the spring and summer, Haru was able to build himself up to a strong position on the team --

 

_but it still wasn't enough._

His teammates were kind, but nowhere close to matching the bonds he'd felt during his time in Iwatobi. Something about Tokyo felt _stagnating_ , tearing away at the confidence he'd slowly built up in social situations, bringing him back down to a stoic, indifferent lump. It didn't help that Makoto couldn't always clear up time to meet, and that as much as Nagisa, Rei and Gou called, they weren't there in person to help figure everything out.

 

And Rin… hadn't called him at all.

 

Realistically, Haru _knew_  why. He probably knew more than anyone, how much Rin desired his revenge on Australia, and how determined he was to obtain it. It made sense that he didn't have time for people back home, didn't have the courage to face Haru of all people until he had made some headway towards his goal.

 

But as Haru lamented the first summer spent without his friends, the grey-ness of Tokyo not abating one bit, he wondered why it was taking Rin so long….?

 

 

* * *

 

 

With fall came bright leaves, the colour of Rin's hair, dredging up feelings long pushed away in Haru's heart. They didn't do much to add colour to his sight, but they whispered of _promises_ , and gave Haru some kind of forbidden hope. He tried to ignore it, not wanting to set himself up for disappointment, but somehow, the leaves didn't lie.

 

Rin e-mailed Haru during the first week of September.

 

It wasn't long, and didn't contain too much, but it still brought a little bubble of elation to Haru's core. Rin had briefly apologized about taking so long to come into contact, and talked about it being spring in Australia (soon, it seemed), but there wasn't really anything written about swimming. Or anything about Rin, really.

 

Haru wasn't overly disappointed. Just hearing from Rin, who seemed to be doing okay, was enough (for now). He could focus on the upcoming meet, being spurred on by his rival -- even if he hadn't really promised Haru anything at all.

 

It could wait.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Winter meant the promise of snow, the descent of a thin layer of white to temporarily obscure the grey, leaving Haru wondering how quickly spring would arrive.

 

Somehow, he'd gone about his holidays backwards this year; during Obon, he'd gone to see his parents; for his winter holidays, he was going back to Iwatobi.

 

Makoto had made the trip back with him, and together they went to visit their old high school. They'd gone to watch Nationals while in Tokyo, where the Iwatobi relay team had made it once again (by the skin of their teeth, according to Nagisa's harrowing narration, but made it nonetheless), so this trip home wasn't their first reunion with their old kouhai, but that didn't change much. Nagisa still clung to them when they arrived, Rei rambled on about everything and nothing at once, and Gou made sure to inspect their muscles for growth and decline ( _"Haruka-senpai, your triceps have grown!!" "Makoto-senpai, you need to work out more! Would you like to try out this new regimen?"_ ), but something felt a little empty.

 

The emptiness became more pronounced when Haru made it home, the quiet, dusty house further driving home the fact that…. Rin still wasn't here.

 

He'd made it a point to pull Gou aside during the reunion, asking only if Rin had plans to come home for New Years, but even she hadn't known, and the shine in her eyes had made it clear that Rin hadn't kept in touch with her much either.

 

Haru tried to push aside his resentment, instead forcing himself back into the present to choose between heading to the dusty kitchen or the dusty bathtub; but something lingering in the back of his head was sending out warning signals -- _isn't this what happened last time?_

* * *

 

 

The snow had melted.

 

Haru noticed this with apathy, which probably meant that he _did_  care deep down, but snow was snow, and Rin was Rin, and they were two separate matters.

 

The blowing wind was harsh against his unprotected face, but Haru was determined to venture out today. Coach Sasabe had offered the use of _Iwatobi SC Returns!_ for Haru's training, an offer he was glad to accept. Not that Samezuka was entirely out of the question, but swimming there felt too wrong without Rin by his side.

 

It was as he reached a familiar railroad crossing that something clicked.

 

He'd been staring down at the lines at first, but when he looked up, Haru could have sworn he'd been sent six years in the past.

 

Rin was there -- wearing a dark coat and a beige, patterned scarf, looking lost and yet present at the same time. He turned slightly, and their eyes met.

 

6 years past, or present, it didn't matter since Rin was in front of him, and Haru was going to make things right either way.

 

"Rin!" he called, and the other made a move towards him when the train barriers suddenly came down. Rin gave him an apologetic look that was soon cut off by a fast-moving train, seeming to go on forever and ever. When the caboose finally made its way past, Haru found himself overly captured by the redness of Rin's eyes, the shine in his hair, that he didn't notice Rin was, all of a sudden, standing right in front of him.

 

"Yo," Rin said, allowing his lips to curl up in a smile. There was so much _colour_ , Haru marvelled, something that had been missing since the last time they had met face-to-face. Haru almost wanted to reach out, to check if this Rin was truly a tangible being, and not just a figment of his dreams. But then there was a firm grasp on his wrist, tugging him away, and finally, Rin _was_  right there.

 

"Let's swim," Rin told him, glancing over his shoulder as they stumbled down the path to the swim club together. He looked so _vivid_ , even under the grey sky, and Haru could only follow, trying to absorb all of the pinks and reds he'd been missing since last spring.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The pool water was still churning as they stood at the pool's wall, panting heavily after their 100m race. Caught up in his own exhaustion, it was difficult for Haru to see the expression on Rin's face, bent posture meaning his vision was occupied by the heave of Rin's chest. It wasn't a bad sight, per se, but there were more important things to be doing -- like determining if this meet-up really would end up replicating six years ago.

 

But as Haru finally forced his back straight, he was blinded by Rin's smile. His face was red (too red -- was he blushing, or crying?), but his jagged grin stretched wide across his face, and Haru felt something in his chest settle.

 

He didn't want to break the moment by asking _that_ question, but if he didn't--

 

(he didn't want to go there.)

 

"I couldn't tell," Haru ground out slowly, turning his face to watch the back wall instead of Rin's likely-falling expression, "who touched the wall fir--"

 

He was cut off by a dense body slamming into his, arms wrapping him in such a tight grip that for a few seconds, Haru forgot how to breathe.

 

"R-Rin.." Haru tried to convey that he was being held too tight, but Rin only let up enough to be able to shift his arms lower, around Haru's waist instead of constricting his chest.

 

"Does it matter?" Rin's voice came out hoarse (as if he'd been yelling for hours), tickling Haru's ear. He could have been shouting in the water, Haru pondered absently, trying desperately to distract himself from the warmth surrounding him, lest it provoke an unwanted action.

 

Tentatively, he raised his hands to Rin's shoulder blades, tracing newly enhanced muscles, gently completing their embrace.

 

"No, I guess it really doesn't," he whispered back.

 

The water around them began to calm down, as they stood there, catching up on lost time.

 

Eventually, it was Rin who broke the silence with a soft murmur.

 

"I'll return when the pool is filled with cherry blossoms."

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was the end of Haru's first full year of swimming, so he returned to Iwatobi.

 

Opting for the train instead of flying this time, Haru boarded alone, Makoto having made other plans since his school operated on a slightly different schedule. Travelling alone was kind of quiet, so Haru took the opportunity to gaze out the window and think about Rin.

 

Rin, who hadn't contacted him since fleeing from the pool -- but at least it had been on a more positive note this time. Haru had tried to complete his regimen after that; tried and failed. He'd at least managed to thank Coach Sasabe properly this time, who gave him a look no less concerned than before, but Haru was alright.

 

Rin, after all, had given him something to look forward to.

 

As the scenery flew by out the window, Haru observed carefully, hoping for some sign of pink. The sakura in Tokyo hadn't yet begun to bloom, so all he could hope for was for Iwatobi to be ahead of schedule this time around. He _missed_  Rin, even more than he had since before their short encounter, longing to feel overwhelmed by those warm colours once more.

 

Thinking about those colours led Haru to become lost in thought, falling into slumber before waking up (luckily) shortly before his stop.

 

Collecting his meager luggage, he made his way out of the train station only to pause. There were many places he could go, but only one seemed right at this point in time.

 

It was growing dark outside, and his duffel bag was a heavy weight on his shoulder, but he paid it no mind. He knew the path to his destination well enough to worry. 

 

At last, the gates of Iwatobi Elementary came into view. 

 

Haru hesitated by the fence, almost scared of what he might find, but made his way into the courtyard to a tree he had visited many times before. 

 

Staring up into its branches, it was easy to lose himself to memory, to days where it hadn't been in bloom, and yet still seemed so majestic, only tainted by the newly-installed garden by its base. Haru knelt down to examine its state seven years later, something he hadn’t really thought to notice last spring. Aside from being a little worn down by the weather, almost everything had been preserved. Absently tracing a finger along his old brick, he closed his eyes, and wondered -- wondered what it would be like if Rin was around. Eyes fluttering open, somehow he wasn't surprised to find his fingertip on _the_ brick, reading " _For the team_ " – just like last time.

 

Pushing himself upright, he backed up to observe the upper branches of the tree --

 

\-- and found his heartbeat rising in delight. 

 

There, among a few random branches, were the buds. Sakura buds. Not yet in full bloom, but budding nonetheless. Excitement rose through his body, reaching his extremities just as a voice rang out behind him:

 

"I told you I'd be back on time, didn't I?"

 

Haru spun around, only to be met with shining red hair, and eyes that shouldn't look that bright even in the sun--

 

_"I'll show you a sight you've never seen before!"_

_Arms crossed behind his head, hair covering more of his face and colourful clothing doing nothing to distract from the colour around his head, and flying by with each imaginary petal--_

 

Haru was drawn out of past memories by _this_ Rin reaching out his hand towards him once more.

 

"So? Are you ready to see all these new sights I have to offer you?"

 

Rin was back. He was done with Australia, back in Japan, back to swimming with Haru. Even after a year of birthdays, holidays, missed moments (including some anniversaries probably only Rin cared for in the end), he had come back. 

 

They might even get to watch the sakura bloom yearly together. (From here on out.)

 

Haru reached out for Rin's hand, and grasped it firmly. 

 

The buds were blooming; Rin was back -- bringing colour along with him. Everything was going to be fine. 

 

“Show me,” Haru told him, and with the light in his eyes shining brighter than ever, Rin led Haru away from the scene of their numerous promises.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
